A WEE COUNTY couple are still putting smiles on each other's faces after 60 years of marriage.

Tullibody's Hamish and Margaret McEwan celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary at the Dunmar House Hotel earlier this month.

The pair were surrounded by around 80 friends and family members as they marked the occasion, and recently told the Advertiser how it went.

Hamish, 83, said: "It was great: all the family were there, all my neighbours – everybody."

And Margaret, 84, added: "The actual date for the 60th anniversary was December 19 – but of course at that time of the year you can't get any place [booked]."

On the night of the event the pair led the first dance to one of their favourite songs: Some Enchanted Evening, from the 1958 movie South Pacific.

Margaret admitted their dancing skills were not what they used to be, and added: "It wasn't actually a dance, it was a shuffle."

But it would have a magical moment for the couple nonetheless, as it was a night of dancing that brought them together for the first time.

According to Hamish, he and Margaret "bumped into each other" while at the Plaza Ballroom in Stirling in 1955.

He said: "Margaret would be 19 when we met, and I'd be 18 because I was her toy boy.

"We got together, and I don't think there was any time we didn't want to be together after that, and two-and-a-half years later we got engaged.

"Then in 1959 we got married."

Looking back at the highlights of their time together so far, Hamish said: "I think the highlight, without a doubt, is our two boys.

"We had great fun with the boys when they were younger."

And Margaret said: "Our two grandchildren have been one of the highlights, too."

They pair also enjoyed many trips together over the years, with a recent cruise in the Caribbean standing out as one of their more special getaways.

When asked if they had any advice for young couples just starting out in relationships, Hamish said: "If you stay with somebody for 60 years, you've got to be happy. You're not going to be sad."

Then, with a slight grin, he said: "I think you have just got to work at it.

"It's give and take – in my case it's more give."

And a chuckling Margaret replied: "I'll remember that."